Ten on Tuesday v. 7

1. We had another snow day today. Yes, another. Let's just say that the east coast doesn't deal with snow...very well. It's comical. It's not all bad, though. 

Pros: It's beautiful. It makes for relaxing, cozy days with my kids. We have a great sledding hill out back. My kids have gotten good use of their snow gear (finally!).

Cons: It's cold. Sometimes those "cozy" days turn crazy. It's cold. And we're now going to school until at least June 12th. Shoot me now.

2. With warmer weather on my mind, I randomly went to the Dutch Wonderland page, and lo and behold, look who appeared!



We have a celebrity on our hands...

3. Sometimes I have to look away while my son is eating. Please tell me this is normal for 10-year-old boys. We're working on the manners, but sometimes it's not worth the fight and I just look away.



4. Kevin and I got crafty a few weeks ago and made Marie a little set of bunk beds for her (fake) American Girl dolls. It was oddly satisfying and we've vowed to do more (non-house) projects together in the future.



5. I experienced the great photo fiasco of 2014 last week. Yes, it's only February, so it might be a little premature to call it that. But let's just hope I don't experience a worse one this year. I decided to back-up past years (pre-external hard drive) from DVDs onto the hard drive, only to find that several disks won't read. Don't worry - I'm only missing half of 2008 and three-fourths of 2009. Yes, my daughter's birth is included in there. Let's just say I've shed a few tears.

6. Kyle had his last Pinewood Derby last week. He definitely didn't go out big like he wanted to, but the car looked great. And Kevin's doing a happy dance that he'll never have to make (I mean, HELP with) another car again!



7. We have a funnel cake maker. Yes, we can make funnel cakes at home. Be jealous. They are JUST that tasty. And Kevin's happy that they don't cost $5. "What??? That's ridiculous. I'm not paying that!"

8. Marie and I were cleaning her room the other day, and I asked her to separate the stuffed animals that she REALLY loves into one pile, and the ones that she doesn't care about into another pile. Every parent out there knows I was going to discretely get rid of the lesser-loved pile. Well, 30 minutes later, there were 30 in the LOVED pile, and one lonely dog sitting by himself in the other pile. Fail. 

Even worse, she outright asked me if I was going to get rid of the dog, and when I answered "maybe," she started sobbing and telling me how much she was going to miss it. He quickly got moved back to the giant pile. Double fail.


                                                 (photo by Marie. Along with 1200 other photos of toys in her room...)

9. It was during this same cleaning raid that I had a slight breakdown. One moment I was cursing my daughter for being such a pack rat, and the next, I was inwardly sobbing and dreading the day that she no longer plays with the PILES of Barbies, dolls, stuffed animals, and knickknacks. It'll be gone before I know it.

10. Two words: Flexible Comedy. Marie's school invited this guy for a family event on Friday night, and it was a riot.

I mean, I laughed so hard I cried. He was dorky, clean, and absolutely hilarious.

A birthday and some visitors!

Kevin celebrated a birthday this weekend. It was the big 3-7, which is a little strange, because I distinctly remember my parents at this age. And while they weren't old, they didn't exactly seem young and hip. So strange to think that's exactly how Kyle sees us now...

However, my husband will always be young at heart. Case in point: all month long, he told me not to get him any presents, his birthday wasn't a big deal, etc. But the closer it got to the big day, the more he couldn't contain himself. "So...do you have my presents already? Are they hidden in the house somewhere? Don't you think it's it's okay to open them the night before? Close enough, right?"

It was a torturous wait, but finally the big day arrived and he got to go on his present scavenger hunt. We did a pretty good job this year - it took him quite awhile to find a few of them.

 Marie was almost more excited about Kevin's birthday than he was. She prepared his present weeks ahead, and the look of pride and joy on her face as she watched him open it was priceless. She finds such joy in giving.

He always wants pecan pie for his birthday, and luckily I discovered this stuff, which makes it a breeze. Unfortunately, I waited until the last minute to order it this year, so that was one pricey pecan pie. And the kids hate the stuff, so I always have to make something else in addition. This year it was a lemon cream pie. It was pretty tasty.

We were also lucky enough to have some visitors that weekend! Chad, Emily & Lincoln came up for a few days. Kevin likes to think they came for his birthday, and we're not going to argue with him.

While they were here, we hit the National Railroad Museum. We'd been there once before, but it had been awhile. It's a great one for families, because there's a lot of hands-on stuff, and plenty to space to let Lincoln wander.

They got to shovel coal for awhile, which Kyle quickly turned into a dodge ball match. Marie had to point out the sign - "Please keep coal in the box." Very typical of their personalities.

My kids cannot get enough of this little guy. They followed after him the entire weekend. But, I think the top favorite was singing karaoke with him. I heard, "I miss Lincoln. He's so cute." more than once after they left.

We also hit up Hershey's Chocolate World, the Amish market (they have the best popcorn), relaxed, and played games late into the night. We definitely went through withdrawls after they left, wishing we had some buddies to play games with.

So glad they came JUST for Kevin's birthday! Love you guys!

Tiny Ballerina

You know how parents have expectations for their children? Not the demanding-type of expectation that junior is going to be a concert pianist, get straight A's, and be a high school football star. But the kind of expectations that say, "Oh, my daughter LOVES to sing. She has pretty good pitch, and I bet she's going to be pretty good singer someday."

Well, my kids seem bound and determined to prove every one of my expectations wrong. Kyle, while very talented athletically, just doesn't have any sort of competitive drive and is probably not going to be out on the field in high school. 

And before this year, I would have assumed that maybe dancing was going to be Marie's thing - given her rhythm, her propensity to dance around the house anytime music is playing, and the begging for dance classes. Instead I've heard comments about how "dance class just isn't that much fun."

Last night was parent observation at the studio, and I'm pretty sure I wore a giant smile across my face the entire time. Partly, because I was laughing at the awkwardness of my sweet little ballerina. Let's face it, she's not the most coordinated, graceful girl in the bunch. Clearly, my kids inherited that from me.

But mostly I was smiling because of how hard she was trying. She kept stealing glances at me, wondering if I was watching. And I was. I loved watching her so much, I thought my heart would burst.

And while I wouldn't bet on the fact that she's going to be a ballerina, I'm going to enjoy every moment of this stage, and wait with eagerness for that summer recital in June.

Besides, I think she's probably more of a hip-hop girl.

 

Science Factory

Our library offers these great family passes to several of the local museums. You check them out like a book, and it's good for admission for 4 people. Perfect for our little family, and it usually saves us $30 or so. It's awesome.

This time around, we checked out the Science Factory. Kyle had been there a few times for fieldtrips & birthday parties, but Marie had never been. And because Kevin couldn't come, Kyle's friend Alex tagged along.

It was the perfect way to spend another cold, snowy day off school. It was dead, and the kids had free reign of the place.

Surprisingly (or not surprising???), it was Marie who had the best time of all. In fact, she's already decided that she's having her 6th birthday party there, and inviting 6 kids, and after the party they're all going to come back to our house where she'll have a special fortune-telling booth set up. "Marie-dini," she's calling herself.

That girl, she always has a plan in the works...

Ten on Tuesday v.6

1. This post is going to be picture-less today, folks. I have to get it done in the 5 minutes it takes for Marie's mac n' cheese to cook. I'm in the middle of PACKING FOR UTAH (!!!) and it's a crazy busy day.

2. We're going to be gone for a good chunk of time, so we've felt the need to cram in as much fun as possible with our friends. Thus, the last-minute packing. Unfortunately, the rain ruined plans today, but maybe that's also fortunate. I always underestimate how long it takes to pack up a family.

3. Our flight isn't until 1:40 tomorrow, which I'm very excited about. We always book these early-morning flights for some reason, which means we have to get up at 3 a.m. to make it to the airport. That's 1 a.m. Utah time, so we always start our vacations exhausted. The thought of sleeping in until our normal time tomorrow makes me happy! 

4. Especially since after we land, we're headed right up to Utah State for their 4th of July concert & fireworks extravaganza. We haven't been for at least a decade, but if I remember right, they always put on a pretty great show.

5. We've talking and daydreaming constantly about our plans for a Disney cruise. We've been saving for awhile now, but I guess we're all tired of saving and waiting and just want it to HAPPEN. It's always a constant battle in my mind, where to save that extra money: HOUSE vs. CRUISE. Either way, we'll be saving awhile! :)

6. Marie finally got her front tooth out! Well, I guess I should say that Kevin got it out. In fact, I had to leave the house both times they worked on it. I'm not only unable to pull my kids' teeth out, I can't even watch. And if you could have seen this one... makes me shiver just thinking about it.

7. She got an extra dollar for this one - the tooth fairy must have known it was special. We've been bribing her for months if she'd get it out, and Kevin thinks we'd better darn well pay up. After all, she saved us the $3000 the dentist wanted us to pay to take her into the hospital, put her under, and take those teeth out. I guess a prize might be in order.

8. I was worried about how her looking like a ragamuffin, but luckily, that brief stage is behind us. She looks pretty darn adorable with that front tooth missing.

9. DIY project #1 is officially done. The stairs are DONE! And I've never been so glad to see a project over with. They look pretty good, but I had plenty of doubts along the way. In fact, as I was pulling painters tape off near the end, I may or may not have started bawling. Bleeding paint was NOT what I wanted to see. But it all worked out, and 5 months, countless sweat & tears (no blood, luckily!), but very little money later, they look pretty good. Hallelujah.

10. And last, but not least, I got invisalign. Long, LONG story, but I needed it. It's been a week, and all I have to say is that 1) whoever claims they're invisible is nuts, and 2) braces might have actually been better. Jury is still out on that. They're a pain, and the thought of having it for 18 months makes me want to cry. I'll survive. And hopefully become less vain in the process.

Happy 4th! 

Ten on Tuesday v.5

1. My sister is having her baby RIGHT NOW and I'm dying that I'm not there. I mean, I didn't really think I'd be there in the hospital with her, but I thought I'd be in the same state. Guess I'm going to have to wait 8 whole days to see Miss Avery, and this makes me surprisingly sad.

2. We've had a crazy fun week. June tends to be that way, with so many events to celebrate, in addition to regular summer fun. 

3. We started with Marie's birthday (another post coming), which I think lived up to all of the anticipation. She got breakfast in bed, wanted to go berry picking (Bucket List #24), helped me make her Hello Kitty cake, had her favorite dinner, and got a mammoth-sized Barbie house. 5-year-old heaven.

4. Speaking of which, she chose Isaac's for dinner that night, much to the chagrin of Kyle, who was rooting for Red Robin. Man, he really worked on her - begging, bribing, and threatening until I threatened him in return. But I was proud of her, she held her own and stuck to her guns. She usually gives in to him on everything.

5. Funny thing is, she's not really a pushover, she just likes making other people happy. So am I proud of her for being selfish?? I'd like to think she just knew it was the one day she could look out for herself. :)

6. We went on a family bike ride the other day. We've only done that a couple of times before. So we decided to go big and bike 9 miles into Mt. Gretna (Bucket List #4), stop for some dinner and ice cream, and bike 9 miles back. The only problem: 18 miles is a pretty long distance for us non-bikers! Let me just say, there were definite doubts along the way...

7. Surprisingly, although there were doubts, there were no complaints. I'll say it again: NO COMPLAINTS! Unheard of. The kids were rock stars. And we had a blast. Even though we severely underestimated the time it would take us, and were riding back in the dark - just us, the fireflies, and the boogeyman.

8. Speaking of which, Kyle has turned into a hard worker! And that exclamation point is for good reason. It's not his fault, it's ours. But we're determined to instill the value of hard work, and it looks like it's finally working. He does his chores without complaints (usually), he's agreeable when Kevin asks him to help with something extra, and he helped Kevin install a neighbor's pool liner. Not to mention that he's out running a mile or two everyday.

9. I hope I didn't just jinx myself. Knock on wood...

10. And lastly, yesterday Kevin and I celebrated 13 years! It was without much fanfare or excitement, but I'll just say this: I love him a million times more than I did 13 years ago, and I'm so happy to be doing life and raising a family with him. And I love that he's mine forever. We went out for sushi, fro-yo, and a little shopping. And this is all we have to show for the day:

40: Trip to the bookstore

There are few things in life that I love more than a good book. I'll read anything and everything. And when I'm not in the middle of one, with the next one waiting by my bedside, I feel a little lost. Not sad, exactly, just a little melancholy. Problem is, being in the middle of a good book doesn't exactly make me the best wife or mother. Just ask my poor husband, who didn't get an ounce of decent sleep last night, until I finally turned the lamp off at 2 a.m.

Anyways, I'm working hard to brainwash my children into my book-loving way of thinking. And while I'm not sure I've succeeded quite yet, I HAVE passed on my love of bookstores. A trip to Barnes & Noble makes for a perfect day. We can spend hours in there, obsessing over what to buy. It's our favorite. And while part of me knows that I could definitely find the same books cheaper on Amazon, the other part willingly pays the higher price because I'm so afraid that they'll go out of business and we'll be left with only online bookstores. And nothing would make me more sad.

Bucket List 2013

Without further ado, it's our Twenty-Thirteen Bucket List! In no particular order...

1. see Monsters University
2. GIANT slip n' slide
3. BBQ with friends
4. Mt. Gretna bike ride
5. Marie's 5th birthday party
6. catch fireflies
7. Go fishing
8. Camping
9. make freezer jam
10. Pajama day
11. Barnstormers game
12. swimming...always!
13. science experiment
14. hike Susquehannok state park
15. Demolition Derby
16. Backyard campout
17. bubble party
18. Screen-free week
19. warhead contest
20. visit the Science Factory
21. see Despicable Me 2
22. make a treat for friends
23. BEACH, BEACH, BEACH! (yes, that's three times...)
24. pick strawberries
25. Landis Valley Farm & museum
26. Kyle's 10th birthday
27. make marshmallow catapults
28. LAWN twister
29. learn 5 new piano songs
30. learn to do a cartwheel (Marie)
31. Summer Reading Program @ the library
32. balloon paddleball
33. make rock monsters
34. bowling
35. trip to UTAH!
36. meet baby Avery :)
37. build cup towers
38. peanut butter playdough
39. Pineview Dairy
40. trip to the bookstore

Ten on Tuesday v. 4

1. Marie's lost two teeth in the last week, with another on the way. I was okay with the little tooth on the bottom, but when I looked in the roof of her mouth and saw a permanent tooth growing in, I freaked. That tooth has pushed one of the top teeth out, and the other will be coming any day.

2. I'm not afraid to admit that I cried when she lost the second one. Kevin asked me why, and I wasn't sure if it was vanity (Hello, Nanny McPhee???) or because she's my baby.

3. Did I mention that she's not quite 5-years-old? Way too young to be looking like an awkward, grown-up kid.

4. One week of summer vacation down, and I think it's been about 50% successful so far. Lots of success on the playing end, not so much on the chores/reading end. I'm vowing to be better this summer!

5. This was supposed to be our summer of reading. Marie's really starting to pick it up, and could be a pro by the end of the summer. And I'm determined to get Kyle reading and loving other books besides "Big Nate" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." I got desperate and hid them all away:

6. I printed out reading punch passes that they can redeem for a treat, and they WILL be completing the summer reading program at the library. Man, they give a lot of good passes/prizes away! Yes, this is definitely going to be our summer of reading...

7. Marie had her friend birthday party on Saturday at the Hands-On House children's museum. It was perfect in every way. The kids ran around like crazy for two hours, had juice and cupcakes, and I didn't have to do a thing. Nothing to prepare, and nothing to clean up afterwards. We're not ones to spend a lot of money on birthday parties, but I thought the $100 fee was completely worth it. 

8. Kyle participated in a lacrosse camp last week. He really loves lacrosse, and has a blast throwing that ball around. But, he's a pretty cautious kid, and let's face it - lacrosse is a pretty crazy sport. So he's been very apprehensive about trying it, despite some aggressive recruiting. He gave it a go, and had a good time, but I don't think he'll be joining up. I'm just proud of him for trying. It was a big step just for him to try something new, all on his own.

9. Marie was pretty stoked about the gear, too:

10. We've moved into a pretty great neighborhood. Last weekend, they had an outdoor movie night. And a few days later, a giant Welcome to Summer ice cream party. Kid heaven.